The 2010 Job Forecast

The year of 2010 looks to be a little brighter, at least when it comes to the job market. Employers are starting to consider hiring strategies that could protect the future growth of their companies, according to CareerBuilder?s 2010 Job Forecast, which questioned more than 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals.

Twenty percent of managers hope to increase their full-time staffs in 2010, compared to 14 percent in 2009.
When it comes to part-time positions, 11 percent of employers plan to hire more part-timers this year, which has increased from 9 percent in 2009. And 61 percent of respondents want to maintain the same full-time worker numbers.

?There have been many signs over the past few months that point to the healing of the U.S. economy, especially the continued decrease in the number of jobs lost per month, a trend that will hopefully carry over into the new year,? says Matt Ferguson, CareerBuilder?s CEO. ?Although twenty percent of employers plan to add head count in 2010, up from fourteen percent last year, they still remain cautious in regards to their hiring.?

Although hiring is supposed to increase, unemployment will not completely disappear. Many unemployed workers will most likely return to the job search with the more positive job-market forecast, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.?s 2010 Job Market Outlook. Layoffs have gradually declined since January 2009.

?The end of the year is typically when we see a surge in layoff activity,? says John A. Challenger, chief executive officer. ?The fact that job cuts continued to decline in the fourth quarter is a good sign that the job market has truly started the recovery process. Unfortunately, the recovery process is slow, so it could be several months or even years before unemployment returns to pre-recession levels.?

Workers may have a better chance of finding a position in the Western part of the country. When it comes to hiring more workers, the Northeast, the South and the Midwest areas follow the West. The industries involving information technology, manufacturing, financial services, professional and business services, and sales will most likely contain the greatest number of open positions.

Remain optimistic if you are still looking for a job. This new year brings new options with companies attempting to strengthen their working staffs. ???